fruit parer



J, E. HOFP. PRUIT PARBR.

(o Model.)

2 Sheets-'Sheet 1..

No. 262,896; Patented Aug. 15, 1882.

In mm tab/inf co. ZZZ

n HH H 'Ill (No Model.) 2 Sheets-.Sheet 2. J. E. HGFF.

' PRUIT PARER. No. 262,896. Patented Aug. 15, 1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH E. HOFF, OF NEWARK, NEW JRSEY, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN R. WEEKS, JR., OF SAME PLAOE.

FRUlT-PARER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 262,896, dated August 15, 1882.

Application filed April 5, 1882.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, J osEPH ELwooD HoFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Parers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichitappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to reduce the cost of construction and increase the effectiveness of parers; and it consists in the arrangement and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter setforth, and finally embodied in the claims.

Referring to the accompanyin g drawings, included in two sheets, in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts in eachof the several figures, Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a front elevation of my device, showing the relation of the several parts to one another. Fig. 2, Sheet 2, is a sectional view of the same, taken through line w in the direction indicated by the arrow; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are views illustrating more fully certain details of construction, all of which willbe hereinafter fully described.

In said drawings, A represents the bed frame-work of my device, upon which is arran ged means for securing the parer to the table, and having at each extremity thereof upwardly-extending arms A' A2, which carry the spindles for carrying the potato or fruit while the same is being pared. Said bed forms a guide or track, a, with which a carriage, O, engages to steady the same.

B indicates a screw-shaft, having bearings in the upwardly-extending arms AI A2, which shaft is adapted to revolve in said bearings actuated by thegear-wheelf2 and crank c, secured upon one extremity thereof. Said screwv shaft carries the before-mentioned carriage G and causes the same to move laterally in a straight line. The journals or bearings b are proferably smooth-cored, and slide over the screw-shaft freely without being directly operated upon by the thread of the screw.

To supply motion to the carriage I secure (No model.)

female thread, so that when said shaft is revolved under the iufluence of the crank the said half-nut will cause the carriage to move laterally upon the shaft B and track a.

Upon the carriage (l are arranged ears bz, whichlform pivotal bearings for a knife-carrier, j. Said ears b2 may be so arranged as that the pivotal or fulcral center of the carrier will not' be parallel withthe center of action of the fruit, but will be at an angle therewith, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. By this arrangement the commencement of the cut is made easier than when the plane of action of the knife is tangential to the pivotal end of the fruit. On one or both of said ears b2 is formed a stoplug, p, which engages with a co-operating lug, m, upon the knife-carrier. The said lugs, coinciding, limit the action of said carrier, so that the knife-blade cannot pass the spindle-center when said spindles are not supplied with a potato or fruit.

Said knife-carrier may also be provided with means lc for receiving the extremity of a spring, o, which spring is secured at its opposite extremity to the carriage. Said spring is adapted to hold the paring-blade into engagementwith the potato, as will be apparent upon reference to Fig. 2.

Upon the upper extremity of the carrier j are secured a paring-blade, r, and gage t, provided with a guard, t', said gage and blade being adjusted together, and shown in front elevation and plan view in Figs. 3 and 4. The cutting-edge of said knife-blade fr is made approximately spiral in form, so that in its engagement With the potato or fruit it will at every point'thereof present an inclined edge thereto which will produce a shearing cut very efi'ective in paring. The gage t is adapted to be adj usted in its relation to the blade-edge to va-ry the thickness of the paring, while the guard t', presenting inclined surfaces to the potato, enables theblade to glide into and over IOO the eyes and protuberances on the surface thereof.

In Operating, the device the hand-Crank O causes the gear-wheel f2 to operate the shaft B and pinion g, secnred to the forked shaft i. Said pinion causes the potato or fruit placed on the fork z' and spindle hv to revolve, as will be clearly nnderstood. i The shaft B, having the half-nut in engagement therewith, causes the carriage to travel laterally thereon, which action eauses the knife-blade to traverse from one pole to the other the revolving potato. When the said blade has arrived in its course to a point approaching the fork t' the heel a, en gagin g with the plate u, (adj ustable or otherwise,) prevents said blade from striking' said fork and dulling the former. Vhen the process of paring is completed the finger-piece e of the half-nut D is raised and the nut portion brought from engagement with the screw B, and the carriagethrown back preparatory to adjusting another potato and repeating the process.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In a parer, a knife-blade the cutting-edge of which is spiral in form, substantially as and for the purpose set forth and shown,

2. In a parer, a knife-blade having` one end secured to an adjustable gage and the other end free, the Cutting-edge of said blade being' spiralin form, substantially as herein set forth, tor thepurpose specified.

3. In combination in a paring device, the frame A A' A2, the screw-shaft B, pivotal half-nut D, oarriage O, having the lugp thereon, the carrierj, fulcrumed upon said carriage, and having the co-operating" lug m and means 7a thereon, the Springs 0 andf, and the knifeblade r, all arranged and Operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth am shown.

4. In a parer, the carriage O, working on a screw-shat't, B, the half-nut D, pivoted on said carriage, having the finger-piece c, and the spring conneoting said half-nut and carriage, and having' a normal tendency to hold said nut and siiaft into operative engagement, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth and shown.

5. In a parer, a cutter-carrier working in a plane inelined in its relation to the pivotal centerof thepotato, substantially as herein shown and described.

6. The combination, in a parer, of the carriage O, actuated by the screw-shaft B, said carriage bearingon the tracka andhavingears D2 thereon, and the knife-carrier pivoted in said ears at an angle with said track and screwshaft, all substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of March, 1882.

JOSEPEI E. HOFF.

Witnesses:

GHAs. T. WINTERS, CHARLES H. PELL. 

